AYVALIK FM · CITY GUIDE
On the North Aegean coast more than an ordinary seaside town.
With stone streets, islands, olive groves, coves and sunsets, Ayvalık is a world of its own where the sea meets culture and the past meets the present.
Visiting a place is one thing.
Living Ayvalık is another.
Ayvalık is not defined by a single beach or viewpoint. UNESCO’s “Ayvalık Industrial Landscape” file highlights the distinctive whole created by its olive groves, production culture, historic settlement and geography of 22 islands.
CUNDA / ALİBEY ISLAND
More than an island.
Named by UNESCO as the largest island in Ayvalık’s 22-island archipelago, Cunda is one of the city’s symbols with its stone character, waterfront and position shaping Ayvalık’s sheltered inner sea.
DEVIL’S TABLE
A stage for sunset.
About 8 km south of central Ayvalık, the hill was formed by lava deposits from an extinct volcano. From here you can see the Ayvalık islands and Lesbos.
SARIMSAKLI
Seven kilometres of coast.
Official tourism sources describe a beach line about 7 km long and up to 100 metres wide in places, known for shallow water and fine sand.
OLIVES & OLIVE OIL
The true backbone of the city.
UNESCO’s file refers to roughly 13,200 hectares of olive groves and more than 2 million olive trees in Ayvalık. The olive is not just a crop; it is a central force in the city’s economic and architectural history.
ISLANDS, COVES, INNER SEA
A natural harbour shaped by geography.
Islands, coves, peninsulas and straits create a sheltered inner sea between Ayvalık and Cunda. The city’s relationship with the sea grows directly from this geography.
STONE STREETS & HISTORY
The 19th century is still visible in the streets.
UNESCO specifically highlights the integrated industrial landscape formed by Ayvalık’s 19th-century houses, warehouses, factories and olive-oil and soap production buildings.
A DAY IN AYVALIKMorning in Cunda.
Morning in Cunda.
Sea at noon.
Sunset in the evening.
Ayvalık FM at night.
It is hard to squeeze the city into a single to-do list — and that is part of its charm. A stone street, a quiet cove, the scent of olives or evening light on the sea can change the plan for the whole day.
